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Thursday 2006-09-07 - P’yŏngyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Transportation
Bikes
Apart from public transportation (more about that later) the main means of transportation seems to be the bike and you see them in a large variety of shapes and ages. If you want to have a bike, you have to buy it in a shop (many second-hand from Japan; most local bikes are still of inferior quality, although there is now a joint venture with China to produce bikes). Once bought, the bike must be registered at the district security office (the equivalent of a police station) and you get a little round license plate, usually attached at the ubiquitous front basket on the handle bars (I have actually seen only a single bike without such a basket). These little baskets are used to transport all sorts of things, from schoolbooks and other papers to pet dogs and even small children.
Apart from the simple luggage rack (sometimes used for very heavy loads), there may be a basket mounted on the luggage rack as well, and once I saw a man peddling by with a whole gaggle of ducks in his back basket, all curiously peering around.
Apparently at one time women were not allowed to ride bikes but that is definitely not true any longer: I’ve seen women on bikes, and our Uni rides a bike as well. One remarkable feature about bikes in the DPRK: I see not a single bike with a lock — apparently bikes are not stolen here. In all, variation and usage of bikes here is very much like that in China, with the most noteworthy difference the lack of locks, and the fact that on average they’re a little older.
Cars
Apart from buses and trucks, there are actually very few cars in the DPRK, most of them “public” (state-owned) but there are some private cars as well. One way someone may get a private car is as an award for a special service to the country (say, winning at an international sports championship). Another is that relatives living abroad may send someone a car as a present. There are (at least) three different kind of license plates by which you can tell what type of car it is: all publicly owned cars (ordinary cars, taxis, buses and trucks) have a white plate; black is for the army, and yellow is for private cars — I noted only two of the latter, but of course with so much to see, I did not only look at license plates!
A huge problem is a serious shortage of oil (the country has none of its own, and the military comes first). This explains the curiously smoking trucks we sometimes see, especially in the countryside: they are powered by cokes, with a little gasification plant in the back (the part that is producing all the smoke — similar to how many cars were run in the Netherlands during the second world war: it’s a little more complicated than oil, but ingenious and effective.
The shortage of oil also causes blackouts, making the trams and trolleybuses used for public transportation not always very reliable, with the result that buses in P’yŏngyang are usually packed. Buses may have a series of stars painted on the side: one each for 50,000km safe transportation — I see quite a few with a whole series of stars.
The P’yŏngyang subway
Since I “collect” subways, riding the P'yŏngyang subway is a special treat for me, even though we only see a short stretch between two stations -- in fact, the section all tourists to the DPRK are shown, from Puhung station to Yonggwang station -- that makes it no less interesting. The subway system has two lines, with 17 stations in all, and a total length of 35km.
Stories that travelers on this stretch are actors (for the benefit of foreign visitors) and that this stretch between two stations is the only functional part are sheer fantasy -- or propaganda. We see ordinary people, and lots of clearly excited school kids with pink and red (plastic) flowers: they're traveling on, on their way to celebrate the National Soccer team returning victoriously today from an international championship in Russia. We also saw lots of people with such flowers on the streets all over the place. (Two days later, the jubilant reception of the soccer team was shown on national television.)
Also noteworthy are the newspaper displays on all platforms, usually with a small cluster of people around them reading: this is the only way most people read the newspaper. Not to forget that the whole system is incredibly deep underground (the escalators taking you to the level where the trains run is dizzyingly high), and also functions as a bomb shelter for the population.
Every station has its own unique decorations, each station with a theme; there are enormous mosaics along the wall (no ads here)— some of them quite beautiful — and huge chandeliers designed to fit the theme. Supposedly the subway was modeled on that of Moscow; I can’t compare since I haven’t been there but some say it’s actually more beautiful.
While most public transportation in P’yŏngyang uses secondhand material imported from abroad, it seems some of the subway cars at least were produced locally. In all, I’m very impressed. The subway is clean, and designed to be pleasant and efficient — not merely functional as in so many cities.
